Phaseshift develops flat optics for labs and businesses that need to control light
Phaseshift develops flat optical components for labs and businesses that need to control light. Its proposed alternative to some conventional optical assemblies is a surface patterned with structures smaller than a wavelength of light. The company offers custom design, nanofabrication, prototyping and testing, as well as a path toward production. Bringing those services together could let an engineering team develop an optical component with manufacturing constraints in view from the start.
From aligned components to patterned surfaces
Conventional optical systems can use multiple lenses, prisms and mirrors that must be carefully aligned. A metasurface instead uses a flat array of tiny structures to shape light at an optical surface. Depending on its design, it can perform functions such as focusing or steering a beam.
That approach is relevant where an optical assembly must fit into a small device. Phaseshift is targeting applications ranging from quantum systems to imaging and sensing, but the performance and size of an individual design depend on the application.
Cambridge Enterprise, which identifies Phaseshift as a portfolio company, says the business draws on University of Cambridge research. It reports that Phaseshift has developed capabilities using materials for ultraviolet and visible wavelengths, including wavelengths relevant to quantum systems.